Web Access News

KVH Videotel has announced a major update to Videotel Performance Manager (VPM) to now include fully integrated online training, making its content available whenever and wherever the seafarer is free.Alongside its Videotel on Demand system, KVH Videotel’s suite of eLearning material can be accessed online on any web-enabled device, with content automatically repurposed for mobile, tablet and web browsing.This flexibility gives ship operators and maritime colleges the ability to provide crew access to KVH Videotel’s material from any location with web access, enabling a higher degree of flexibility, as crew have more opportunities to complete their training schedules wherever they are.Additionally…

MSC Cruises, a privately-owned cruise line and market leader in Europe, South America and South Africa announced that it has worked together with Marlink – the pioneer of business critical communication solutions for customers operating in remote environments – to launch a next-generation connectivity for MSC Cruises’ fleet with multi-band VSAT services. Working with Marlink, MSC Cruises will provide dynamic bandwidth to its 12 existing ships as well as the next-generation ships currently under construction, including MSC Meraviglia and MSC Seaside. No matter the itinerary of the ships, the bandwidth will be able to accommodate seasonal fluctuations…

EMC today announced a new global Ku-band VSAT package of connectivity and content for ships at sea, optimized for the next-generation high-throughput satellite (HTS) networks that are now being deployed. “Designed with crew welfare as a top priority, the new EMC VSAT platform offers a combination of services and capabilities never before available from a single marine VSAT supplier,” said Gilles Gillesen, president of EMC’s commercial shipping business unit. EMC’s patented SpeedNet technology solves the age-old problem of latency in web access at sea. Using a proprietary intelligent protocol and global backbone, SpeedNet predictively fetches, compresses and pushes multiple layers of websites at once to local servers.

Transas Marine has launched Transas Web Map Service (WMS)to provide transparent and easy access to navigation charts through common interface. Access to comprehensive mapping data is a powerful tool for developers of online web-based and mobile apps who can now use Transas’ top-notch technology to build their own applications. Transas WMS incorporates the company’s renowned TX-97 chart collection and guaranteesfast and reliable chart viewing service with a worldwide coverage.Developers of custom mapping applicationswith web access features can now use Transas TX-97 map tiles. Efficient tile caching ensures maximum performance even in most demanding scenarios, allowing a large number of simultaneous users to access the service without any adverse impact on speed and quality.

Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd, India’s largest port developer and part of Adani Group, today announced that Minister for Transport and Rural Development, Mr. Foundation Stone for Adani Ennore Container Terminal laidor its container terminal at Ennore port. The terminal, which will be constructed in two phases, is expected to be commissioned in March 2016. On completion, it will be a 730 meter terminal, with 31.5 hectares of back area, and capable of handling 1.4 million TEUs annually. It will be South India’s first e-terminal and all-electric facility, offering paper-less operations and direct linkage with CFS and lines through Web Access and Automatic Gates, allowing seamless transit from CFS to the container yard. Speaking on the occasion, Mr.

Astrium Services took a survey of seafarer’s usage of crew communication solutions in the commercial shipping sector to establish a picture of mariner communications requirements. According to Tore Morten Olsen, Head of Maritime Services, Astrium Services, the survey was illuminating in more ways than one, helping to shed light on modern comms usage for onboard business and personal reasons. MLC 2006 is here. What is your sense that ship operators and owners will incorporate an increased availability of communications solutions for seafarers? The MLC asks for “reasonable access to ship-to-shore telephone communications, and email and Internet facilities, where available.” The wording is quite soft. Plus it is located in the non-mandatory guidelines. So there’s some room for interpretation.

Nautical Control Solutions, LP (NCS) announced that Marine Fuel Management (MFM) systems consultant Mustang Technologies has been signed as an official representative in the Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA). “We are delighted to be appointed a FuelTrax representative,” said Mr. Charles Kathrein, CEO Mustang Technologies. “While various sections of the shipping industry in Asia Pacific have been suffering from low rates, high fuel costs and overcapacity, the offshore support vessel (OSV) industry has been growing rapidly with the fleets themselves getting younger.

G2 Crew Services, the J/V  between Griffin and GAC, teams with iVitta to provide a cell phone SIM that covers more than 1,000 ports worldwide. "Web access on board vessels remains the exception rather than the rule and most crew rely on text messages and phone calls to stay in touch while away from home," said Simon Morse, Executive Chairman of Griffin. "Currently their choice is to either to carry a bag full of different SIMS each with a separate telephone number and credit balance or pay ‘roaming charges’ of up to $5 per minute ex Europe. iVittamobile offers a single SIM supported by 650 local carriers so crew can make that same call for as little as 9 cents per minute," he said.

Like it or not, eLearning is transforming maritime training. People may argue its merits and applications, but there is no arguing that it is here to stay. As eLearning continues to expand its presence, all of us involved in maritime training are going to be faced with critical decisions about whether and how we employ it in our organizations. But do we know enough to make informed decisions? Do we truly understand eLearning, its strengths, its limitations, and how it is best applied? This is the second in a series of articles which examines eLearning in the maritime industry.

Global Marine Networks Inc. How to stay in touch with family, friends and information through radio, satellite voice, email and Internet services while at sea with laptops and smartphones is the subject of the GMN offering. Blue water cruisers, and other boaters have more choices than ever when it comes to staying in touch while at sea, but some choices are better than others, according to a new report from Global Marine Networks (GMN), called Staying In Touch Offshore: Global Marine Networks’ Guide To Blue Water Cruising Communications. “The changes we are seeing in communications technologies everywhere are affecting boaters, and particularly those who spend time cruising in blue waters,” said Dr. Luis Soltero, Chief Technology Officer of Global Marine Networks.

Thomas Gunn Navigation Services Limited, the international chart supply specialist, has strengthened the services it provides to the US and Canadian markets by joining forces with Vancouver-based Maritime Services Ltd to form Thomas Gunn Maritime Services Inc. This strategic tie-up combines the ongoing experience of ex-seagoing staff of both companies together with a high level of existing in-house expertise to ensure that customers in this important geographical region receive the highest level of chart advice and service available.

Despite the critical role of the maritime industry in laying the fiber that connects the world to the Internet, the maritime industry itself relies almost exclusively on satellites for ship-to-shore and ship-to-ship connectivity. However, the networking protocols used to transfer data between computers do not operate efficiently over satellite links. This is especially true at the higher data rates that are starting to become more prevalent for ship-based connectivity, but even at low bandwidths, the noisy links typical of mobile satellite systems prevent the efficient use of expensive satellite time. Fortunately, a new class of products…

Despite the critical role of the maritime industry in laying the fiber that connects the world to the Internet, the maritime industry itself relies almost exclusively on satellites for ship-to-shore and ship-to-ship connectivity. However, the networking protocols used to transfer data between computers do not operate efficiently over satellite links. This is especially true at the higher data rates that are starting to become more prevalent for ship-based connectivity, but even at low bandwidths, the noisy links typical of mobile satellite systems prevent the efficient use of expensive satellite time. Fortunately, a new class of products…

By Stephen J. Baum and Ted L. Individuals across the shipbuilding enterprise depend on Web access and availability of digital ship data to perform their daily duties. As increasingly larger quantities of ship data become available digitally, the end user often finds it difficult to locate the required data for several reasons. First, it is difficult for the causal user to quickly and easily navigate through volumes of data to find what is of importance. Simple keyword searches based on textual queries are often frustrating and are regularly unsuccessful due to the lack of data standardization. Second, data tends to be distributed across…

Marlink, a subsidiary of Telenor Satellite Services, announced that it is extending its "Super Quiet Time" and "Inmarsat A to Fleet" maritime communications programs offered via Telenor. Both programs, first offered in early 2003, are designed to make "at sea" satellite communications more affordable and easier for mariners. Marlink is extending its Super Quiet Time program through March 2005, offering customers substantially reduced prices for prepaid voice calls over Inmarsat-B, -M, Mini-M, GAN, Fleet and Swift services. Marlink has significantly increased the SQT calling hours in all ocean regions, including 24-hours-a-day SQT calling on Saturdays and Sundays.

Inmarsat, the original mobile satcom provider for the maritime industry, has been riding the crest of a wave recently, with users at an all-time high, overall 99.9 per cent satellite reliability and the launch of its Fleet F77, Mobile ISDN and Mobile Packet Data services for the maritime community. Ruth Ling reports on what's new and what lies on the horizon. Twenty years ago, a revolution hit the maritime industry. Satellite communications became available to ships at sea. Back in 1982, when Inmarsat began offering onboard satellite communications, its first and only system was Inmarsat A, which offered voice, facsimile, telex and data services. After nine years of successful service and expansion into most maritime sectors, Inmarsat began offering Inmarsat C.

Station 12 has launched a new, unique satellite communication platform that delivers messages in the preferred format of the sender. 'Connect Messaging Services' boast enhanced convenience and performance by enabling senders to choose from telex, fax and email delivery. There are also a variety of additional capabilities, including mailing lists, alias names and alternative address delivery. It is the first service that enables all fixed mobile communication - whether fax, telex or email - to be sent via a single platform. The messages are stored, then converted into the desired format for delivery. Connect Messaging Services became operational on October 2, 2000. Station 12 confirms it has invested around $2 million in the development of the service in the last year.

The Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS), a Web-enabled pay and personnel management tool, is officially available fleetwide. The final shipboard installation, on the USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) on Feb. 7, marked the achievement of full operational capability, the last major acquisition milestone for the program. NSIPS provides field-level standardized and integrated pay and personnel records management capability for all 374,687 Navy active and Reserve members. “The ability to easily and reliably access their pay and personnel records from around the fleet is an immense enhancement because it gives our Navy members a tool to help manage their career," said Cmdr. Susan Eaton, NSIPS program manager.

The business of transporting multi-ton barges filled with petroleum conjures up scenes more from On the Waterfront, than The Net, historically. The tug and barge services industry has been perceived as one associated with pencil, paper and telephone types, who carry the details in their heads, rather than depending upon sophisticated computer systems. This has begun to change, however, with a recent move into the computer age by industry leaders, decisions motivated by desires to add client value and competitively position themselves for the future. Reinauer Transportation Companies, a family-owned and operated company, has pulled barges throughout New York and Boston harbors and along the Chesapeake for 75 years.

COMSAT Mobile Communications' (CMC) Santa Paula, California, earth station is celebrating 25 years of continuous, around-the-clock operations, providing the critical communications link for customers on land, at sea, and in the air. CMC's west coast facility provides Inmarsat satellite communications coverage from western North America, across the Pacific Ocean and into Asia, the Pacific Rim nations, New Zealand, Australia, and the eastern Indian Ocean. The Santa Paula station has served as a principal communications lifeline providing instant communications to ships at sea, aircraft, and to people located in parts of the world where there is no communications infrastructure. For a quarter century, Santa Paula has often provided their sole means of contact with the rest of the world.